What do you think really holds you back from improving at golf?

[powerpushfade]

Other stuff to do, and other hobbies to enjoy. :wave:

This

[SoCalTitleist]

Other stuff to do, and other hobbies to enjoy. :wave:

This

Life .

Time.

Other hobbies.

Wife.

Kids.

Work.

[byoshio82]

Clearing/getting to the left side. For a 3 handicap I might be the worlds worst ball striker!lol! Thank god I can putt or I’d be a 15!haha!

[MGMM]

Time and money are the easy answers (which 90% apply to me), but I also think lack of attainable goals fills that other 10. As much as I love the sport, why am I practicing? I’m not going to go pro and make this a career so it’s all about fun at this point. Making a goal at the beginning of a season and then having the time, money and patience to follow though on it is challenging with a real life of job, family, kids that needs to take prescience. Unless it’s a career, it’s hard to justify the time commitment to truly get better, although I would LOVE to do so. A hobby doesn’t pay the bills

[xkilgorextroutx]

Time keeps me from improving at golf.

 

I have small kids at home and I am not comfortable taking off for half the day on every weekend to go golf. Nor do I have a job that allows me to go golfing whenever I want. Sure I can go to the range on my lunch hour, but that's about it.

 

If I had more time on the course, I guarantee I'd improve much faster than I am now.

[Golfjack]

I spend a lot of time trying to get my swing better rather than play the game better. Frustrates me to see some guy with a weird looking swing scoring pars and bogeys while I vacillate between pars and doubles (or worse). I'm starting to hit more greens which is satisfying. But real swing changes (versus small quick fixes) are really painful and take a very long time to implement.

[RichieHunt]

Conditioning.

 

Time to practice and play.

 

Age. More difficult to pick things up and bones and joints don't always feel the best every day.

 

Putting. Goes in line with lack of time to consistently work on my putting

 

Focus on shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[MK7Golf21]

Most know what they need to do in their swing, they just can’t do it. You have people who never really played sports or did 20 years ago and obese and out of shape thinking they can swing like Rory mcilroy.

 

It’s the reason alot of the good golfers on the site don’t really know that much about the golf swing but are naturaly athletic, then we have the golf nerds who know a lot but can’t play worth a lick because they are only book smart

[GolfTurkey]

Getting regular in person lessons from a good instructor would make the biggest difference to me IMO. There were 2 other sports I played where I improved a lot relatively quickly and that was the key for me, in addition to putting in the practice in between sessions.

[getitdaily]

I love how everyone thinks if I only had the time to practice and play endlessly I could be a scratch. Convenient way to rationalize it.

 

Lol...the question was what holds "you" back not what holds "cinderellaboy" back. The response from folks are what they think holds them back, not you...sheesh

[Garush34]

Lack of practice facilities is a big one for me. My short game could do with a great deal of work but no club around me has a chipping green. I know I can practice on the course but that does not give enough time to be able to actually make changes and ingrain it.

 

I know that when I play more the better I play, and this year will be the year I get to do that. I have moved clubs allowing me to be 2 mins a away for a game. More comps are on offer, and the wife is happy for me to play unless we have other plans. So I hope to get up to the course a couple times a week in the evening and also to the comps on the weekend. So hoping to play at least 3 times a week, more if I can. Just need for the clocks to change this weekend for us here in the UK and I can start getting up there next week.

[Nard_S]

The iphone proves what i think I'm doing and what is actually going on are two different things.

[garf0404]

Availability of time to dedicate to practice.

 

Totally agree with this.. wish I could just give myself one or two extra days a week to practice.

[davep043]

I have a specific swing change that I'm working on. As the days get longer, and the temperatures rise, I'll be able to practice a couple of evenings each week, in addition to playing on weekends and at least one evening a week. The difficulty, for me, is in practicing properly. I really should be doing a lot of slow swings and drills to ingrain the change, and take regular video to verify that I'm going in the right direction. But I just don't have the patience, so I often proceed for full swings pretty quickly, which is going to extend my learning time. Change is hard, but I'm not helping myself change as effectively as possible with my current practice habits.

[Poser]

Talent

[oz dee cee]

Over the years my cap hasn’t really moved a lot. Playing and practicing did help but not a lot. Same old misses and inconsistencies popping up week after week. So I made a conscious decision to take lessons off a reputable coach. It’s been a big swing change and I won’t lie, a tough transition. And like all have suggested when you haven’t the time to put in many hours of practice on the changes, it does take time. It’s been frustrating but it’s now heading in the right direction. And I feel like consistency is just around the corner. Here’s hoping...

[pappaf2]

A couple things that hurt my improvement are self trust and the ability to focus.

[doxtr111]

Lack of committment

[Birdie Mac]

A couple things that hurt my improvement are self trust and the ability to focus.

 

Wow. This is me. I feel like I have all the shots I need from tee to green, but can't put them together. Some days I drive the ball well, and can't hit irons. Some day it's the short game. I often have a stretch mid-round where I go brain dead and forget how to golf altogether.

 

One day I hope to keep my focus for 18 holes and score as well as I know I'm capable of. My fear is I'm already doing it...

[pearsonified]

Here's one I know will resonate:

 

The very slight downhill lie present on nearly all grass ranges in the US (for drainage purposes).

 

My mind senses the slope...and hates it.

[Krt22]

Something mental. I can hit fine on the range, fine on simulators, make great progress on video during lessons, then on the course something mental happens and it's like I'm a completely different golfer. Literally night and day at times

[jut111]

I have a specific swing change that I'm working on. As the days get longer, and the temperatures rise, I'll be able to practice a couple of evenings each week, in addition to playing on weekends and at least one evening a week. The difficulty, for me, is in practicing properly. I really should be doing a lot of slow swings and drills to ingrain the change, and take regular video to verify that I'm going in the right direction. But I just don't have the patience, so I often proceed for full swings pretty quickly, which is going to extend my learning time. Change is hard, but I'm not helping myself change as effectively as possible with my current practice habits.

 

Perfect. Exactly the same as me.

[Jim Waldron]

After 25 years of teaching, here is how I see this really important question.

 

1. poor Awareness for both body and mind. Awareness is the Number One Tool that every golfer needs to learn new skills, practice new moves, and play the course effectively.

 

2. poor mental focus, ie a wandering mind. Tends to make the golfer flinch during the swing or stroke.

 

3. poor understanding of how the brain-mind/body learns motor skills. The traditional golf instruction paradigm is completely broken regarding this essential issue. How do you use your mind effectively when practicing, what does it take to form a dominant habit, what are the limits of the conscious mind in achieving new and dominant mechanical habits?

 

I have found that when I work with the rare new student who has awareness, good mental focus and a proper understanding of the learning process, that any mechanical changes we work on will be achieved fairly quickly and without a lot of time in practice.

[Cool Hand Luke]

lack of discipline, relatively speaking as I have discipline but if I were to be even more disciplined with my mind and behaviors then I would get even better. once you have a semi-decent, repeatable swing established and know how to play the required shots then that's all it really boils down to, isn't it?

[Greyboy]

For me I think it's simply not knowing how to correct my faults, therefor not knowing how to hit the ball properly. I think with live instruction, probably multiple lessons, a good teacher can drastically change my golf game. I'm athletic enough, I can swing hard enough, I can hit decent positions without a ball.. but when the ball is there my impact position is a disaster.

[jut111]

Here's one I know will resonate:

 

The very slight downhill lie present on nearly all grass ranges in the US (for drainage purposes).

 

My mind senses the slope...and hates it.

 

Seriously?

[Middler]

I could make time, but I am not certain on what to practice. And "fixing" my swing is a never ending chase, I suspect I'd do better if I just quit changing things, but when you hit a couple of bad shots it's difficult to not try something a little different. For me it's usually hands higher or lower at setup, longer or shorter backswing, wrist c0ck earlier or later. I am not consistent with clubface angle at impact, path at impact, or solid strikes near sweet spot - obviously that's a problem.

 

I don't care for hitting balls on the range, as it's not at all representative of playing IME, so I tend to play practice rounds instead of the range. I took a couple of lessons last year, and it did help, so I plan on 2-6 this season. I'm 63 yo and though I could get better, but I have no illusions of reaching scratch. If I can get anywhere into single digits and break 80 a little more often, I'd be thrilled. My short game and putting aren't bad, but I am pretty inconsistent with my full swing game - that's always been my experience.

[joker2]

With the plethora of writings, videos, and golf instruction, there is no shortage on golf swing information and knowledge available to golfers today.

 

 

For most golfers, you just said it.....

[DLiver]

I live in a golf community where there are a lot of really great golfers for whom time and money are not issues. Almost every one of them thought when they retired, they could devote all their time to getting better at golf. It virtually never worked out that way. Everyone plays at about the same level as when they were working full time, etc.

 

People don't get better because they can't/don't improve their skills. Better skills lead to more consistent play on the course, which leads to better scores.

[jurr80]

Problems with expectation management that lead to “chasing one’s tail”, i.e, diverting one’s improvement plan at the first stumbling block. Motor learning takes time, and we aren’t patient enough to let it happen.

 

We don’t change a baby’s gait the first time they fall down. We let them struggle through walking until it clicks. We don’t allow ourselves the same time. Pros do.